A West Dallas high school is preparing students for health careers. Here’s how

From KERA News:

For Janelle Lopez, the new health care institute in her charter school network presented multiple opportunities: to experience new things, and to learn about the equipment her family members with medical conditions depend on for treatment.

Lopez is one of 161 students in the Uplift Heights Healthcare Institute’s inaugural cohort. The high school freshmen will spend the next few years learning from clinicians with Baylor Scott & White Health and participating in labs and community events as they prepare for careers in health care.

Classes so far for her and her classmates have involved basics, including introductions to bodily systems, patient care best practices and applying personal protective equipment. Core classes such as English and math also incorporate aspects of the health care industry into the curriculum.

Over the next couple of years, students will determine their desired career pathways and earn credits that could either lead to jobs straight out of high school or dual credit at partner colleges such as UT Arlington, Dallas College and Texas Women’s University.

Lopez said she hopes to specialize in diagnostic technology.

“I see taking medical classes so I can learn ultrasound or any MRIs or CT scans because it’s something that interests me a lot,” she said.

The school, operated in partnership between Uplift and Baylor Scott and White Health, augments two already existing collaborative programs between the two organizations, including a certified medical assistant certification and a summer youth program.

“(The programs) just worked so well that we were just looking for ways to expand our collaboration,” said Phil Kendzior, vice president of workforce development programs with Baylor Scott & White.

The institute was funded in part by a Bloomberg Philanthropies grant to pilot schools designed to prepare students for high-demand health care jobs. Uplift Education received around $15 million for the first five years of operation.

Uplift Education will also open a nursing pathway program at Uplift Grand Preparatory later this year.

Kendzior said the program is unique for the pathways it offers students. The institute provides tracks for biomedical science, nursing, business operations and therapeutic services.

“Everyone knows about careers in nursing and careers as doctors, but there isn’t a broad awareness of all the different careers in health care,” Kendzior said.

Health care jobs account for some of the fastest-growing occupations in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs for nurse practitioners were projected to grow by 46% between 2023 and 2033. Medical and health services manager positions are expected to grow by 29%.

Kendzior said over the years, he’s seen a growing demand for people with advanced certifications and unlicensed positions, including patient care technicians or certified medical assistants.

“When I think about careers in MRI, in CTE, in interventional radiology, some of these advanced certifications and modalities, we have a challenge today even finding students to fill the programs that are happening at our local post-secondary partners,” he said. “I think that’s a big opportunity.”

Choosing a health care pathway

Freshman Adedoyin Adeyemo said he’s still exploring his post-college options. For now, he’s taking advantage of learning from clinicians who run quarterly workshops.

Baylor employees host what Kendzior calls “takeover days,” which can involve simulation lab activities, demonstrations in the gym or other hands-on activities.

Workshops so far have involved assembling packages for victims of Hurricane Milton or lessons about blood pressure, Adeyemo said.

“Not only are they extremely interactive, they also mostly have a lot of impact as well,” he added.

Students also have the opportunity to network with Baylor employees and shadow their work. Adeyemo said he hopes to shadow an emergency medicine doctor during the summer.

There’s an added benefit to the workshop days, Kendzior said: the hands-on lessons give students the opportunity to weigh their options. A “small-but-meaningful number” of students change their pathways to lesser-known – but more in-demand – fields.

“That allows us to expose scholars to those areas of need that they may not have been exposed to in the past and, you know, perhaps we’ll get some more to have interest in those opportunities,” he said.

Kendzior said students do not have to commit to a pathway until halfway through junior year, when students can earn dual credits.

Program to expand

With additional funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Uplift will eventually open spots for high school seniors.

Uplift Education CEO Yasmin Bhatia said they applied for the funding after sophomores and juniors asked how they could be involved with the nascent school. The senior program will run for three years – until the program is fully built out.

“We were really glad that there was an answer we were able to give them,” Bhatia said. “It really was a nice bridge for us to be able to say, while the ninth graders are on a very formal path, we can also tell the current 10th through 12th graders we’re excited to grow your interest in health care also.”

Kendzior said around 25 seniors will participate in the program when it opens later in the spring semester.

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